Guest Post: Choosing Music For Your Ads

By Simon Brown, Publishing Manager at Lemoncake.com

When you hear a catchy tune or song on an advertisement, you rarely forget that product. Whether or not the product is something that interests you specifically, a track that plays into your emotions will make for a memorable ad. Carefully selected music attracts the audience and contributes to the entertainment factor, as well as ensuring an ad lives on in ones memory beyond its 30-second length. Tying music together with the narrative of an ad will help to create something truly special. If it is successful, viewers will be left humming the jingle, with the brand’s information and slogan well and truly drummed into their memories.

British retailer John Lewis’s marketing team is renowned for getting their advertisements exactly right, and their music choices for Christmas advertisements never fail to impress. In 2010, Ellie Goulding’s version of ‘Your Song’ complemented a heartwarming piece about sneaking presents past loved ones, attempting to giftwrap awkwardly shaped items, and hanging stockings out for pets. More recently, Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of ‘The Power of Love’ beautifully accompanied a snowman’s search for the perfect present, and also topped the Singles Chart. 2013 sees the return of Lily Allen covering Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ in an emotionally charged ad titled ‘The Bear & The Hare’.

Whether it’s a gorilla smashing a drum kit to Phil Collins or a Pavarotti parody, memorable tunes are ideal in accompanying the visuals in ads. From iconic rock songs, to 70s anthems, or simply a price comparison site with a ridiculously irritating jingle, advertising music proves hugely influential time and time again.

So how do you choose the right music for your advert?

Deciding on an appropriate track for your advert can be challenging and time consuming, not forgetting the added expense and process of  using copyrighted tracks or new commissions. Check out a few of our simple steps to help you get ahead in finding the right track and making your advert a success.

1. Consider your audience: Who is the product aimed at? Ensuring the music appeals to the viewers will contribute to the advert’s success.

2. Choose a genre: By considering a variety of genres and subgenres, you are sure to find a style that best suits your advertisement.

3. Match the tempo: Coordinate a fast beat to a quick paced video, and make sure a more relaxed advert is complemented by a slower tempo.

4. Convey the mood: Whether its happiness or melancholy, choose music that evokes the same emotion as your advert.

5. Represent your product: Ensure the music is an audio portrayal of the video, so choose something intense for a serious product, and match chilled-out music to something lighthearted.

6. Coordinate with the video: Whether your advert is simple or elaborate, make sure the music maintains the structure and theme.

7. Finalize the advert: By taking the simple but key decisions above you should be closer to knowing the style and feel of music you wish to use – so go ahead, put it together and enjoy!

If choosing the right track is still proving to be challenging and costly, a music production library might be the right choice. Lemoncake.com is a new production music library and publisher featuring innovative search options to help find the perfect track for your advert. Unlike other production music libraries, the music is free at the point of use, removing frustrating financial restrictions.

What’s your favourite advertising music of all time? Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Simon Brown is the Publishing Manager at Lemoncake.com, a revolutionary music production library and publisher. Visit www.lemoncake.com to learn more about it. 

Comments

comments